Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the DOGE bros, have had a chance to take a close look at the 1,500-page continuing resolution (CR) released Tuesday by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), and they are not one bit impressed. In fact, Musk is so incensed by the “cramnibus” — so named because Johnson is trying to cram it through before the government runs out of money on Friday — that he’s putting all members of Congress on notice that a vote in favor of the bill could cost them their job.
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READ RELATED: Congress Releases Continuing Resolution Ahead of Government Shutdown Deadline
Musk shared his thoughts on X:
Musk, who poured more than $250 million into groups supporting Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and is more than willing to put his money where his mouth is, urged his followers to call their representatives to tell them not to vote for the CR.
“Please call your elected representatives right away to tell them how you feel!” he added in a separate post. “They are trying to get this passed today while no one is paying attention.”
Musk also called for a moratorium on all legislation until President-elect Trump takes office.
“No bills should be passed Congress until Jan 20, when @realDonaldTrump takes office. None. Zero.”
One item in the CR definitely caught Musk’s attention: the pay increase that would raise the paychecks of members of Congress from $174,000 to $243,000 per year. Members would also get the perk of not having to opt into Obamacare.
Musk’s take on the Congressional pay raise? “How can this be called a “continuing resolution” if it includes a 40% pay increase for Congress?”
READ RELATED: DOGE Will Be Trump’s Centerpiece During His Second Term
Similarly, Musk’s DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy offered his opinion on the funding bill, saying “it’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO.”
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Vivek had a lot to say about it:
I wanted to read the full 1,500+ page bill & speak with key leaders before forming an opinion. Having done that, here’s my view: it’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO.
Keeping the government open until March 14 will cost ~$380BN by itself, but the true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater due to new spending. Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief: $100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8BN. The proposal adds at least 65 cents of new spending for every dollar of continued discretionary spending.
The legislation will end up hurting many of the people it purports to help. Debt-fueled spending sprees may “feel good” today, but it’s like showering cocaine on an addict: it’s not compassion, it’s cruelty. Farmers will see more land sold to foreign buyers when taxes inevitably rise to meet our obligations. Our children will be saddled with crippling debt. Interest payments will be the largest item in our national budget.
Congress has known about this deadline since they created it in late September. There’s no reason why this couldn’t have gone through the standard process, instead of being rushed to a vote right before Congressmen want to go home for the holidays. The urgency is 100% manufactured & designed to avoid serious public debate.
The bill could have easily been under 20 pages. Instead, there are dozens of unrelated policy items crammed into the 1,547 pages of this bill. There’s no legitimate reason for them to be voted on as a package deal by a lame-duck Congress. 72 pages worth of “Pandemic Preparedness and Response” policy; renewal of the much-criticized “Global Engagement Center,” a key player in the federal censorship state; 17 different pieces of Commerce legislation; paving the way for a new football stadium in D.C.; a pay raise for Congressmen & Senators and making them eligible for Federal Employee Health Benefits. It’s indefensible to ram these measures through at the last second without debate.
We’re grateful for DOGE’s warm reception on Capitol Hill. Nearly everyone agrees we need a smaller & more streamlined federal government, but actions speak louder than words. This is an early test. The bill should fail.
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Speaker Johnson seems to recognize the importance of have Musk and Ramaswamy on his side, but, per his own words, he seems to be having mixed success on that front:
“Elon, Vivek and I were on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this. And Vivek and I talked last night, about almost midnight, and he said, ‘Look, I get it,’” Johnson told Fox News’s “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday morning. “He said, ‘We understand you’re in an impossible position. Everybody knows that.’”
“Remember, guys, we still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans. So any bill has to have Democratic votes,” Johnson added. “They understand the situation. He said, ‘It’s not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’ I said, ‘Guess what, fellas, I don’t either.”
Musk’s threat may just be having its desired effect, as Republicans like Senators Joni Ernst and John Cornyn are signaling that they will not be voting for the bill.